What they're saying about the Portland Timbers and MLS Player of the Week Will Johnson (links)

Atiba Harris of the Colorado Rapids competed for the ball with Michael Harrington of the Portland Timbers in the second half of a 2-2 tie on Saturday, March 30.Karl Gehring/The Denver Post

The Portland Timbers fought from behind to earn a 2-2 draw against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday as Will Johnson netted two second-half goals on his way to earning MLS Player of the Week honors.

The Timbers have come away with a draw in both of their road games so far this season, which is an early sign of improvement on their woeful 2012 road performance. On the flip side, the Timbers still have yet to record their first win of the season.

Here's a breakdown of what they're saying about the Timbers' performance over the weekend:

So far, in four games played, two of those have been on the road. The
first against arch-rivals the Seattle Sounders and the second against
the Colorado Rapids.
Both games ended in a draw, giving the Timbers two of a possible six
points. That might not sound like a great result, but when compared to
2012 it's a huge improvement.

It seemed early on Saturday that Powers and the Rapids were well on their way to win No. 1.

But coach Oscar Pareja's team squandered a 2-0 second-half lead and
eventually settled for a 2-2 tie with the Portland Timbers in front of
11,774 fans at blustery Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Powers, the Rapids rookie who was selected 11th overall in the MLS's
SuperDraft in January out of Notre Dame, delivered a blast in the 18th
minute that seemed to spark an offense in much need of a catalyst.

While the results have been mediocre, it’s important to keep things in
perspective a little bit. Merritt Paulson and Caleb Porter are correct
insofar as this Timbers group has already shown substantially more grit
than any of the prior two MLS Timbers teams. Additionally, while the
team hasn’t looked as sharp on the road, the Timbers tactics have much
more systematic direction than they ever did in the Spencer Era, even if
the execution isn’t quite perfect yet. Don’t be surprised to see a few
more frustrating results in the coming months, but also don’t be
surprised to see this Timbers team improve significantly over the course
of the season.

Defensive cover is all well and good, but it is fair to question the
price that is paid to achieve this cover. Thus far, the price has been
an ineffective Diego Valeri – the guy whose engine should be driving the
team - and a disjointed possession game featuring three defensive
midfielders who show little sign of forming a cohesive unit. You can
talk and complain all you want about Jewsbury, but if the deficiencies
in the back four are addressed his role becomes irrelevant and the high
priced, highly skilled guys can go back to playing the roles that they
play best.

Caleb Porter and the Portland Timbers may still be in search of their
first win of the season, but they avoided suffering what would have
been a big loss this past weekend thanks to Will Johnson.

The veteran midfielder rescued the Timbers on Saturday against the
Colorado Rapids, bagging a brace to help Portland rally from two goals
down to earn a 2-2 draw at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, and that performance saw him claim the MLS Player of the Week award for Week 5.